Here's an update to my original post, as of July 12th at 3:16pm...

1. I emailed the executive operations person at AVIS/Budget (yes, you too can go to "the top"...(if you want a copy of my email, just ask)

2. I received a reply from the Las Vegas Budget manager...it really sucked, she didn't "get it". I'm happy to print her reply here if requested, but trust me, it was totally defensive (she did offer me an upgrade, lol).

3. I replied to her response via email, and sent a copy of the email to the top Avis/Budget executive mentioned above. She's probably not having a good day.

4. Within an hour or so I received a conference call from several folks at Avis/Budget who represented they were in a decision-making capacity, and recognized yes, Houston, we have a problem.

5. I'm told that the Terms and Conditions that were being distributed to every renter in Las Vegas has been stopped. I'm told that they are taking immediate efforts to address the confusion on budget.com with regard to credit card deposit requirements.

6. They asked what I wanted, I told them nothing. I'm just tired of seeing John Smith being taken advantage of when they go to rent cars.

So let's see if changes in Avis/Budget credit card deposit requirements are implemented in the short term...

Am I making a bigger deal out of this than it deserves? I dunno, I can take care of myself, but I see so many infrequent renters being taken advantage of as I stand in line or whatever, that when I encounter something so blatant, it's just enough. I don't want anything out of this personally, I just want to know that if one books on budget.com, one knows what the terms are, whether it's a corporate or franchise location, and for the Las Vegas location to stop handing out "Terms and Conditions" that are totally out of date.

And thanks for FlyerTalk for the opportunity to vent, hopefully in this instance, it will have a real positive impact for transparency.